Caring for mental health

You can help make sure kids and youth have increased access to mental health care at the Stollery Children’s Hospital:

• 24/7 access to clinical emergency mental health services at the Stollery Emergency and through a crisis phone line service
• On-site services at the Walter C. Mackenzie Stollery site for kids and youth who present as low-risk as an alternative to waiting for an emergency department assessment

We need your help to provide mental health patients and families access to care from specialized mental health teams:

• Specialized bedside support for kids and adolescents who present with mental health concerns
• Highly-trained child psychiatrists, therapists, nurses and social workers working alongside emergency physicians and clinical support staff to provide mental health examinations and risk assessments
• A specialized team who works with patients and families after a suicide attempt to make sure children and youth have access to available community supports before being discharged

But we still have a long way to go, as the demand and complexity of mental health cases are rising. In 2023-24:

• 9,521 mental health patients were served
• 7,546 mental health assessments were completed
• 514 mental health staff and community members were trained
• 192 outpatient clinic consults were made
• 83 mental health patients were redirected from the Stollery Emergency

Support child and youth mental health care at the Stollery:

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Thanks to our donors, as of September 2024, the Stollery has:

• Expanded its outpatient psychiatry clinic, increasing capacity for outpatient and phone consultations.

THE IMPACT:

• • More timely access to psychiatry and mental health resources
  • Families are supported to receive mental health support in their community instead of a hospital setting
  • Fewer emergency room visits for recurring issues
  • More capacity for immediate emergencies
  • Better support for patients requiring non-emergency services

• Integrated a multidisciplinary mental health team into the Stollery’s emergency department

THE IMPACT:

• • Increased knowledge and awareness of mental health wellness in the broader healthcare system
  • Creation of supports and tools for families on such topics as anxiety, emotional regulation, self-injury and coping skills for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth
  • Ongoing training for staff in the Stollery Emergency along with the hiring of an additional clinical nurse educator
  • Reduced wait times
  • Additional social workers who have allowed the team to extend hours of service and follow families through their health-care journey
  • A dedicated family counselor to talk to parents and offer support, while also easing the burden on nursing staff